WHERE HOME TOWN MEANS BUSINESS Indiana HomeTown Competitiveness

Indiana Resource Team

Background Indiana-HTC Initiative (IHTC) harnesses the power of the nationally recognized community development program “HomeTown Competitiveness”. IHTC focuses on five pillars:  Mobilizing local leaders and building community civic capacity;  Energizing local entrepreneurs to build a strong economy;  Capturing wealth transfer to raise development dollars;  Attracting young people to strengthen community demographics;  Helping rural families achieve economic success.

Why Participate in IHTC? Three primary reasons: 1. Since 2003 HTC has received national recognition and awards –National Rural Funders Collaborative, International Community Development Society, Kellogg Foundation. 2. IHTC will focus on the basics necessary for building and sustaining a robust development agenda and provides a development framework that can help communities achieve their development goals. 3. Provides the opportunity to collaborate with a statewide “Indiana Resource Team” in order to create a customized strategic framework for your community.

A Three Phase Process Phase 1 Assessment:  Takes four months to complete.  Consists of the community creating an organizational structure consisting of a steering committee, community coordinator, and 5 pillar task forces.  Phase 1 is launched with a community “Kick-Off” celebration. During Phase 1 the leadership and volunteers conduct local assessments of the community utilizing the 5 pillars as a filter for the assessment process.

A Three Phase Process  At the conclusion of the assessments, the community hosts an “Opportunity Retreat” where the results of Phase 1 are shared and a variety of development opportunities are identified. These opportunities will become part of the Phase 2 Strategic Development and Implementation. Phase 2 Strategic Development and Implementation:  Phase 2 takes months to complete.  During this Phase the opportunities identified as a result of Phase 1 become the corner stone for the development of a customized strategic action plan.  In some cases the strategic action plan is also launched during the end of Phase 2.

A Three Phase Process Phase 3 Sustaining Success:  Phase 3 sustains the successes from Phase 1 and 2 and launches all of the various opportunities identified in the community’s strategic action plan.  Since at least months have passed since the beginning of their Indiana-HomeTown Competitiveness initiative, often Phase 3 begins with an evaluation (assessment) of where the community is relative to where they were prior to implementing the IHTC process.

Phase 1 Investments IHTC Academy: a. Individual Community Investment……………..$ (NOTE: Fee is collected only if community does not participate in the Phase 1 process.) b. Indiana Resource Team…………………………….$ 20, (NOTE: The $20,000 is based on facility costs and in-kind contributions from Resource Team member’s staff time and material development.)

Phase 1 Investments Phase 1 Assessment: a. Community Investment…………………………………..$ 7, (NOTE: Community’s investment remains in the community and is controlled by the local Steering Committee.) b. Indiana Resource Team Investment………………$150, (NOTE: The $150,000 is based upon Resource Team member organizations providing in-kind staff time as site coaches, various trainings and TA support e.g. reports etc.)

Phase 1 Investments Phase 1 Investment Totals: a. Total Community Investment……………………………$7, (NOTE: The community’s investment would be managed and controlled by the local Steering Committee.) b. Total Indiana Resource Team Investment………$170, (NOTE: The Indiana Resource Team’s investment is based on a variety of in-kind services e.g. site coaches, costs for training, facilities, and materials.)

uses the human capital of the community comprehensively takes A High Five Point Approach How does IHTC work?

Leadership Identifying, utilizing and empowering the local leadership talent is part of what makes IHTC effective in moving communities forward.

Philanthropy Planned charitable giving can be part of a philanthropic home town strategy. Rethinking how we plan our estates and our contributions can play an important role in sustaining our Indiana communities.

Entrepreneurism Creating a hometown environment that celebrates and supports the entrepreneurial spirit is what IHTC helps communities to foster.

Youth As communities age, there is a greater need to harness the power and input of our youth. We need to provide an opportunity for youth to be and feel valued, to leave and explore, but then return to their hometown and become community leaders.

Why do we need a Youth Pillar? Brain drain has been occurring to rural communities for generations. However, as family sizes have decreased, the outmigration has resulted in population loss of young adults. Our census numbers show a graying of our rural communities in mean age. Indiana Rural Schools lost 5% student population between 2000 and Studies show that we begin convincing our talented young people to leave by middle school.

Questions? 1. To what extent do you believe “brain drain” is effecting your community? 2. What are your schools and communities doing now to engage and retain youth/young adults? 3. What do you see as some of the barriers to youth engagement and retention in your community? 4. What ideas and actions might be employed to increase youth engagement and retention?

Family Economic Success For many, figuring out how to manage money and plan for an emergency is a struggle. It is a sign of the times, but it can also be generational. IHTC helps communities explore ways to address the issue of poverty and involve families in helping them on their way to experiencing economic success.

Putting it ALL together!

Organizational Structure & Key Positions

IHTC TIME LINE  June 13-15: Indiana HomeTown Academy.  June 14-Aug. 31: Applicant organizational work begins.  Sept. 1-Dec. 31: Phase 1 Assessment launched.  January, 2012: Phase 2 Strategic Development & Implementation launched.  June, 2012: Phase 3 Sustaining Success launched.

Where Home Town Means Business!